IMOL2025 Workshop: Deadline Extended + Speakers Lineup

[Nicola Catenacci]

Dear colleagues,

We would like to remind you to register to the 7th Intrinsically Motivated Open-ended Learning Workshop (IMOL2025), which will take place at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK, from September 8–10, 2025. Please note two important updates reported below:

• Extended deadline for submissions (20th of July 2025 AOE).

• Current list of invited speakers (additional names coming soon)

Workshop Description

IMOL2025 will bring together researchers from AI, machine learning, robotics, cognitive science, psychology, biology, and related disciplines to share and discuss the latest advancements in intrinsically motivated and open-ended learning. The workshop will showcase cross-disciplinary research aimed at understanding and building adaptive systems capable of operating in open-ended, unpredictable environments. It will focus on mechanisms inspired by intrinsic motivation—those that enable humans and animals to explore, learn, and develop autonomously through self-generated goals and internal drives—as well as theoretical foundations, algorithmic innovations, cognitive and biological insights, and real-world applications of open-ended learning.

Invited Speakers

• Michael Levin, Tufts University

• Tim Rocktä­sch­el, University College London / DeepMind

• Michael Herrmann, University of Edinburgh

• Christian Guckelsberger, Aalto University

• Jakob Foerster, University of Oxford

• Özgür Şimşek, University of Bath

• Tim Verbelen, VERSES Research Lab

• Franziska Brändle, University of Oxford

• Anna Jordanous, University of Kent

Registration and Submission

There is no registration fee, but registration is compulsory for participation. Registration will be based on accepted submissions. There are two ways to register:

1. Submit an extended abstract (up to 2 pages, excluding references) describing research relevant to the workshop themes. Both published and unpublished work are welcome.

   • Accepted abstracts will be presented as posters.

   • A select number will be invited for short plenary talks in the main track.

2. Submit a brief motivation letter if you do not plan to present work but would like to attend and participate in discussions.

Please choose only one of the above submission options. All accepted submissions (poster abstracts or motivation letters) will count as valid registrations for IMOL2025.

Submissions must be made via the OpenReview platform at:
https://openreview.net/group?id=IMOL/2025/Conference

Topics

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Intrinsic motivations in artificial and biological systems

• Autonomous open-ended learning in machines and robots

• Self-supervised representation learning

• Goal self-generation

• Architectures for open-ended learning

• Multi-task reinforcement learning

• Curriculum learning

• Continual and lifelong learning

• Parameterized and goal-based skill learning

• Skill compositionality and chunking

• Knowledge transfer and avoidance of catastrophic forgetting

• Abstraction and hierarchies of goals and behaviours

• Interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations

• Open-ended development in children

• Mitigating risks in real-world deployment of open-ended systems

• Developmental and cognitive architectures supporting open-ended learning

• Philosophical and ethical implications of open-ended learning

Important Dates

• Submission opens: June 2, 2025

• Submission deadline: July 13, 2025 July 20, 2025 AOE

• Notification of acceptance: July 20, 2025 July 27, 2025

• Workshop dates: September 8–10, 2025

Website: https://imol2025.github.io/

For enquiries, please contact: imol25....@gmail.com

Please help us spread the word about IMOL2025. 

We look forward to seeing you in Hatfield!

The IMOL2025 Organizing Committee